Alan Whicker and Nadezhda Popova

Globetrotting TV presenter who charmed stars and villains alike

Alan Whicker, who has died aged 87, once said he was the only person who
really was interested in other people’s holiday snaps. It was this innate
sense of curiosity that drove his career as a reporter and presenter. Over
five decades, he went from being a war correspondent to unearthing the
impressive and bizarre in his series Whicker’s World.

His dapper figure, inevitably clothed in neatly pressed slacks, blazer and
regimental-style tie, made him one of the most recognised figures on
television. His scripts had a full quota of alliteration and puns, and his
slightly nasal delivery was distinctive — and much mimicked, most notably by
Monty Python. His interviewing technique was relaxed, and he never shirked
an awkward or embarrassing question. The secret, he said, was to ask it
agreeably.

Three years after Whicker’s birth in Cairo, his family moved to Richmond in
Surrey. His father, a former army